I must say that I do love my G. Loomis and Ross reel but I suck so bad at it, I frequently find myself going back to the Ultra-ultra light spinning combo with the Panther Martin or occasional Mepps size "0" hardware. :-)

__________________
Rob
TLCA #22710
2010 FJC - "Wasabi Wagon"

"A society who's moral ideals prohibit it's own defense, is a society doomed to be destroyed by those very forces it deems immoral" - Marion "Doc" Ford (Randy Wayne White)

I fished Spinney Reservoir today. I hooked one nice fish that promptly straightened the hook on my size 18 chironomid.

That was it. 2 times in a row I have been skunked at Spinney. There were about 15 guys on float tubes in the water and 2 fish were caught all day. I spent some time talking to a few of them who were local. They confirmed what I had been thinking the last few times I've been down there..... Spinney's trout are in big trouble. Ever since pike were introduced, it has been going downhill fast.

Pike are super fun to catch if you're prepared, but they grow so big, so fast, that they just plain eat everything else in the water. There have already been pike caught this year close to 50"! A pike that big will eat 14"-18"+ trout all day long. They are devastating to the population. There is no limit on how many you can keep and the State is requesting that people puncture their air bladder to kill them even if you don't want to harvest them.

Spinney is designated as a Gold Medal Trout Water by the State of Colorado. It was one of only 3 lakes to have that distinction. Pretty sad to see it go this way.

I finished 2 weeks of trips backpacking and hiking to various lakes in the Sangre De Christo mtns and James Peak wilderness. I spent 2 nights at the lake I found last year with the large cutt's in the Sangre's. It's 7 miles in at 11400ft (see pic). Wow. That was frustrating. I only caught one smaller one. They weren't feeding on anything near the surface. I could see tons of huge fish spawning near the shore. I should have tried harder to catch them out deep. Of course the ones spawning wouldn't hit anything I put in front of their noses. I got lucky with one on an artificial egg but that was it.

I went to the lower lake a mile down and caught all kinds of medium sized ones ones but I wanted the big ones. Any suggestions on how to catch the big cutt's when they're spawning early summer?

I had a similar experience at upper Glacier lake in James Peak wilderness. I didn't see them spawning but could only catch the smaller brook trout in the lower lake (pic1).

I also day hiked into Little Echo Lake from the timberline switchback on the Kingston Peak road (Pic2). I only fished for an hour because of the pending storms. But, I caught a few smaller lake trout (pic3). I missed quite a few more. I hear there are some nicer size fish in there and recommended it. It's a steep hike in and out and stormy so leave early.

I finished 2 weeks of trips backpacking and hiking to various lakes in the Sangre De Christo mtns and James Peak wilderness. I spent 2 nights at the lake I found last year with the large cutt's in the Sangre's. It's 7 miles in at 11400ft (see pic). Wow. That was frustrating. I only caught one smaller one. They weren't feeding on anything near the surface. I could see tons of huge fish spawning near the shore. I should have tried harder to catch them out deep. Of course the ones spawning wouldn't hit anything I put in front of their noses. I got lucky with one on an artificial egg but that was it.

I went to the lower lake a mile down and caught all kinds of medium sized ones ones but I wanted the big ones. Any suggestions on how to catch the big cutt's when they're spawning early summer?

Scott, that trip sounds awesome! The Greenback Cutts that you mentioned were probably not actually spawning, but they may have been trying to move in that direction. Cutthroats (or any salmonoid) won't (or can't) spawn in a lake. They need to migrate upstream into moving water to reproduce. There was a study of a lake in RMNP where state biologists found 1 fry that they believe to have been hatched in the lake itself. It's beyond rare. You may have seen them "staging" to migrate up a stream, even if there wasn't one, but it wasn't a true spawn that will reproduce fish. Fish generally don't feed much during the migration.

Lake Trout and Brook Trout - which are actually char - can and will reproduce in a lake.

I just did some research on line. The Cutts I was referring too were in the Sangre de Cristo's mtns near the Sand Dunes so they would be part of the Rio Grande Cutthroat's.

Evidently they spawn in the spring as late as July at higher altitudes. Perhaps when I was watching them they were just going thru the motions getting ready to spawn somewhere else. But, there was no big inlet to swim up. Which is common. Rather there was a series of small waterfalls spilling into the lake and many other very small inlets spilling in. Indeed, they usually spawn in the inlets but they can spawn in other areas with current flowing according to my research. In my case there was small inlet flows nearby providing the just enough current IMO.

I finished 2 weeks of trips backpacking and hiking to various lakes in the Sangre De Christo mtns and James Peak wilderness. I spent 2 nights at the lake I found last year with the large cutt's in the Sangre's. It's 7 miles in at 11400ft (see pic). Wow. That was frustrating. I only caught one smaller one. They weren't feeding on anything near the surface. I could see tons of huge fish spawning near the shore. I should have tried harder to catch them out deep. Of course the ones spawning wouldn't hit anything I put in front of their noses. I got lucky with one on an artificial egg but that was it.

I went to the lower lake a mile down and caught all kinds of medium sized ones ones but I wanted the big ones. Any suggestions on how to catch the big cutt's when they're spawning early summer?

Scott, I think the best way to catch a big Cutt when they're spawning in early summer is to ... ... wait until late summer and then hit 'me with a shinny Panther Martin or Mepps!!!

__________________
Rob
TLCA #22710
2010 FJC - "Wasabi Wagon"

"A society who's moral ideals prohibit it's own defense, is a society doomed to be destroyed by those very forces it deems immoral" - Marion "Doc" Ford (Randy Wayne White)

Went fishing last Wednesday on the middle fork of the South Platte... Rowdy Trout Ranch. Private water but got a chance because a friend of mine is a new guide. 4 lakes and about a half mile of water. Water was pretty clear but not as clear as I've seen it. Using my new Temple Forks Outfitters BVK Rod and TFO Large Arbor Reel.